December 31, 2022 | Read Online

Don't read this until tomorrow.

While I have my hang-ups with Jesus Christ, I'm quite fond of his father.

Cole Schafer
December 31, 2022

The Previews...

You've probably already gotten the memo but everything in the Honey Copy store is 20% off between now and January 31st. If this news is new to you, I explain why I'm offering the steep discount, in great detail, at the bottom of this email. But, for now, that's all you need to know.

Now, let's dive into this week's edition of Sticky Notes.

The Movies...

While I have my hang-ups with Jesus Christ, I'm quite fond of his father.

He's been good to me, far better than I deserve and while there have been plenty of times over the years when I've been too stubborn or too busy or too arrogant or too lost to pick up the phone, there's overwhelming evidence of his unwavering presence in my life.

But, this newsletter isn't about faith. It's about gratitude.

Let me explain.

I heard a story once about how Denzel Washington will stick his slippers underneath his bed at night so that in the morning he's forced to get down on his hands and knees to retrieve them.

Here's a short excerpt of him talking about the peculiar practice...

"

I pray that you all put your shoes way under the bed at night so that you gotta get on your knees in the morning to find them. And, while you're down there, thank God for grace and mercy and understanding. We all fall short of the glory. We all got plenty. If you just start thinking of all the things you've got to say thank you for, that's a day. That's easily a day.

"

Whether you believe in God or not, there are far worse ways you can spend your morning than getting down on your hands and knees and scrounging around on your bedroom floor for a few things you're thankful for.

But, that's easier said than done, isn't it?

Making time for prayer, gratitude, thanks, appreciation––whatever the fuck you want to call it––is damned difficult because refreshing your email inbox (or whatever social media platform you fancy) will forever be more entertaining than saying "thanks".

The difference, of course, is that the latter feeds your soul while the former leaves you feeling as empty as a bullet-hole-ridden rain pail in the heat of a Texas drought.

Still to this day, I forget to "phone in" and so like Denzel, I've been forced to play games with myself as a reminder to be thankful.

While I don't stick my slippers underneath my bed––I don't wear slippers––each day, when I sit down to write, I make it a point to whisper the Lord's Prayer to myself before letting my hands and fingers perform a craft that has become almost second nature to them.

"

Our father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who've trespassed against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen.

"

I first spoke this prayer at fourteen years old, huddled beneath the low-hanging ceilings of the Harrison Highschool basketball locker room, pleading for the courage to face the opposing team on the other side of the door.

It has followed me from my days pounding a basketball on the hardwood in Southern Indiana to tearing our carpet as I crawled through my pipe dreams of becoming a writer to moving to Tennessee and Chicago and then Tennessee again, as those dreams were slowly but so triumphantly realized.

It's a prayer that will forever live here. It's one that I will both chant and listen to when gratitude is as difficult to spot as a Polar Bear in a goddamn snowstorm.

If you followed my instructions in the subject line of this email, it's the very first day of a brand new year. Naturally, you have goals, resolutions and visions of the improved individual you want to become.

Goals are good. Resolutions are good. Desires are good. But, like anything, they come with a great cost. When we desire something, we are making a deal with ourselves that we will be unfulfilled until we achieve that which we desire.

(After all, if all of us were completely fulfilled, we would have no goals or resolutions or desires...)

This is the price we pay for desire: fulfillment.

When I've been at my most ambitious, I've found that I have allowed my desire and lack of fulfillment to take the place of my gratitude.

I've become so focused and obsessed with achieving my desired outcome––and with it filling some hole in myself I've cut out to pay the debt of such desire––that I forget to phone in and say "thank you".

And so this is my reminder to you and myself.

Take on this year with reckless abandon and fill it with so much of yourself and your spirit and your ambition that you overwhelm it like a pride of lions overwhelms a 2,600 lb water buffalo. Throw all of yourself at these next 365 days as if you aren't guaranteed 365 more. Work hard. Live hard. Love hard. Exist hard. Fight hard. Smile hard. Laugh hard. Rest hard. Drink hard. Sweat hard.

But, just remember, when you lie down at the end of the day exhausted from all the working and living and loving and existing and fighting and smiling and laughing and drinking and sweating... to put your slippers underneath the bed so that in the morning, you can say "thank you".

By Cole Schafer.

P.S. If you're new to Sticky Notes, you can subscribe here.

Fuck you, Gumroad.

A couple weeks back, Gumroad––the payment processing platform I use for all of my books, courses and online products––announced they're increasing service fees by more than 300% starting January 31st.

The increase is jarring, especially in the midst of a recession where independent creators like myself are treading their asses off just to keep their heads above water.

That being said, I'm of the opinion that we vote with our dollars.

In other words, when brands and founders decide to act like asshats, it's our responsibility as consumers to take our business elsewhere.

So, I'm taking my business elsewhere.

I'm in the midst of transitioning all of my products off of Gumroad, in the meantime, every one of my products is 20% off with discount code "GUCKFUMROAD".

How did I arrive at this number?

I combined the 13% Gumroad is stealing from creators starting January with the annual inflation rate here in the United States (which currently sits around 7%).

If you love poetry, grab a copy of One Minute, Please?, After Her or Guillotine.

If you're struggling to face your fears, Let the tigers through the door.

If you're an aspiring writer, enroll in Meet Cute.

If you're interested in advertising, it's never too cold for Snow Cones.

If you're looking for lady luck, buy lunch with Mr. Draper.

Or, just get me drunk.

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